Best sets on broadway- Page 2

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 5:21pm

I prefer shows where you can see your buck in the performances and material.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 5:30pm

My favorite sets have been
into the woods (revival)
Les Miserables
Wicked
Cats
Kiss Me kate (revival)

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 5:39pm

Aida's set impresses me because of it's elegance. It's not a jaw-dropper; it's the "why didn't I think of that" brilliance of, for example, having a backdrop become a tent. It's a kind of "abstraction" that you don't see in many sets today, where the emphasis is usually on realism.

Of course, I really have no idea what I'm talking about

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 5:49pm

Hairspray-it's so colorful, it's always so fun just to look at the stage.

Rent-I love how they keep the same set the entire show to represent different places.

Les Miserables
Wicked
~No explanation is needed for either of those. Great sets.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 5:51pm

When I saw Aida on tour, "My Strongest Suit" set was 3-D. I also feel that the reason Aida's sets are so amazing is the lighting design.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 6:47pm

I agree with Tom Sawyer. Bad show, great sets.
I love Aida's sets too. They're brilliant. So are the sets for Wicked.
On the other hand, the lack of elaborate sets works really well for some shows, like Rent and Cabaret.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 7:39pm

The tent trick in Aida was done in Once on This Island, but that type of clever staging was used more consistantly and with more ingenuity. I think what really bothered me about Aida was that the story claimed to be a flashback from modern day to ancient Egypt, yet there was little of anything Egytian in its design. Had the story been transposed to a more modern setting somewhat like Rent or West Side Story, I might have felt differently. It just didn't work for me.

[Broadwaygirl4life]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 7:43pm

I think the best one ever is AIDA. Its wonderful, especailly with the swimming pool. WOW!

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 7:46pm

See, I think the WICKED sets are too needlessly elaborate and fussy. And I thought the huge mechanical dragon would "do" more, or at least be more used.

The 'ne plus ultra' of sets is HAIRSPRAY. Witty and inventive, with throwaway stage gags going off like firecrackers. Colors were either pale pastels or deep, rich purples, reds and oranges which teased the eye without assaulting it.

I did not care for NEVER GONNA DACE, but thought the sets and lighting were quietly elegant and easy on the eyes. Ditto THE PRODUCERS sets which are clever and understated when they need be. I wonder if its production designer took a cue from Robert Usher's Broadway sets from the Harry Richman film PUTTIN'ON THE RITZ.

[BillyLawlor]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 7:50pm

Aida is simply divine. I just saw that show and was wowed by the sets. I strongly agree with BwayThtr11. The lighting for the sets really makes them seem more colorful and impressive then I suppose they really are.

Wicked is the only other mindblowing one I can think of at the moment.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 8:03pm

I agree that the lighting for Aida was good, but that backdrop of the "prison" which consisted of the 70s optical illusion design with little men painted inside was kind of silly.

The one good thing I remember about Thou Shalt Not was the use three non-cocentric turntables. They created very interesting movement patterns, especially during the Tugboat sequence, the only scene I felt worked well in the show.

[DrVincento2]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 8:15pm

Beautiful Sets:

- Secret Garden
- Metamorphoses
- Nine
- Aida

Neat Sets:

- Kiss Me Kate Revival
- The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci
- Baz Lurmans: La Boehme

Cool when I was 14, sort of blah now:

- Chicago
- Camelot (Robert Goulet Tour)

Beautifully Simplistic:

- Urinetown
- Cabaret
- Blue/Orange

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 8:31pm

I thought the set of The Crucible (last year) was outstanding.

[MauveRose]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 8:39pm

Wicked--the OZDust Ballroom when the lights come on, and the beginning of One Short Day--I get the chills every time I see it. I agree about wanting the dragon to do more than move its head, but if it did more, it might require further explanation in the story regarding the purpose of the time dragon. It serves its purpose in the set.

I absolutely LOVED the sets for Victor Victoria as well. Amazing.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 8:41pm

La Boheme
Aida
Wicked
Mornings at Seven
Private Lives